Terminal Overload 0.3 released + support the developer on Patreon
| 8:54 AM

By On 8:54 AM

The very innovative and awesome looking (+ fully FOSS) multiplayer FPS Terminal-Overload got a new release today. Edit: By now there is actually already a 0.4.0 release, get it here.

Charged x-jump on the new ETH5 map (3rd person camera turned on)
One of the new features is a charged jump that lets one take big leaps to reach good sniping spots or evade an enemy etc. Other changes for this release:
- New map: ETH5
- Prettier GUI
- Replace re-jumping with instant & charged x-jump.
- Tweak CAT movement speeds.
- Simplify disc controls.
- ETH mode: Each class only has one type of offensive disc.
- SMG changes: Increase firing rate, decrease damage, shorter range.
- MGL changes: Remove recoil, decrease firing rate, fire only one projectile.
- MG changes: Projectiles are affected by gravity.
- Remove etherboard from class #4 (Minigunner) loadout.
- Remove SG2 from class #2 loadout.
- Improve responsiveness of mouse look while in CAT form.
- New projectile visuals (except discs & grenade).
The new GUI looks like this:
New menu graphics with options window
While it is is quite awesome looking and playable already, it obviously still needs a bit of further development. Since the funds of an earlier crowd-funding drive have been used up, the developer is now looking for other ways to survive. If you like what he is doing, you can head over to his new Patreon page to support him with a monthly payment.

Yes, YOU! Right NOW! ;)

Developer contributions to code and art are of course also welcome.

First public release of Terminal Overload!
| 12:59 PM

By On 12:59 PM

You might remember the crowd-sourcing campaign from the beginning of this year to make a fully FOSS remake of a rather unique game.

Well, a bit later than promised, but really awesome never the less:


Note that this is a really early alpha and most of the art still has placeholder quality. It is quite playable multiplayer game already though, and there is a Linux and a Windows version for download on their website.

Please don't forget to give feedback on our forums (also if you are interested in helping out).

This is by the way to my knowledge the first FOSS game utilizing the open-sourced version of the Torque3D engine and also the only one that uses the work in progress Linux port so far.

Torque3D seems to finally get a Linux port!
| 4:40 AM

By On 4:40 AM

Following the release of the Torque3D engine under the MIT license (latest release 3.5 here), there was a lot of back and forth regarding a port to Linux (the engine actually used to have a good Linux port, but that one was dropped a few years back). At some point there was even an official Kickstarter crowed-funding attempt, which however failed to reach the estimated funds (but nether the less more than US$10k were pledged). After that things quited down, but several people continued developing a OpenGL renderer and Linux port.

Now it seems like all these efforts seem to be near a somewhat usable Linux port or at least that's what I understand by following this forum thread.

Torque3D running on Xubuntu 12.10

In the short term the most interesting application of this Linux port is probably that the creator of RotC has announced on his currently running indigogo campaign to liberate (and update) the game, that now there will also be a Linux port.

Great news if you ask me, so don't forget to pledge some of that Christmas money you got towards reaching the funding goal (currently $388 out of $1500, with 36 days left). Let's make this happen!

Edit (nearly forgot): these two projects related to Torque3D might be interesting to follow: Project GREED and Zentense.

Help to ROTC:Ethernet to become fully open-source
| 5:55 AM

By On 5:55 AM

The creator of the nice, but pretty niche, freeware game (but with Creative Commons licensed assets) Revenge of the Cats: Ethernet has just informed us that he started a Indiegogo campaign (target US$ 1500) to liberate the game.




The current version still runs on an old closed source build of the Torque3D engine, but with the somewhat recent move to MIT licensing, it has now become possible to go fully open-source.

According to the author:
All I need is about a month's time and some cash to make it happen.
So lets give him the help he needs ;)

The only not so great part of it is that the Linux port of the Torque3D MIT engine is not yet available. Several people are slowly working on it, but after a failed attempt to crowd-fund it, there seems to have been some setbacks.
But optimistically speaking, this could give it the needed push to also motivate the finalization of a working Linux port.